18 December 2014

SDOHAN News and Information Shared - 18 December 2014

Today I have released the Green Paper into the future of
health services in Tasmania.

It’s an important step in our journey of making better care
available for all.

As I move around the community I hear from patients, their
families and carers about how much respect and admiration they have for the
staff who work in our health system.

I also hear many ideas for making it better.

That’s why I announced reforms this year – One State, One
Health System, Better Outcomes reforms.

I can provide a brief update on how other aspects of the
reforms are progressing:

·Creation
of a single statewide Tasmanian Health Service by 1 July 2015 – preparations
underway and on-track for commencement on time.

·A
new Health Council of Tasmania to provide expert clinical and consumer advice
on health reform – Chaired by Denise Fassett, it was announced this week and
has met for the first time.

·Reform
of the DHHS – to focus the insight and talents of its staff on managing the
health system efficiently – underway.

The Green Paper I’ve released today describes the challenges
facing our health system and starts the conversation about finding solutions.

Central to our reform plans is the development of a Clinical
Services Profile that will describe where services can be located so that all
Tasmanians have equal and fair access to better services.

We all want to have services located near where we live and,
for many essential services; this is what we should strive for.

It’s important to recognise that we can’t always have
complex, high-risk services in all locations. It is not safe and it is
not sustainable.

Our job is to make these hard decisions about how we balance
this mix of regional and statewide services.

I urge all Tasmanians with an interest in health service
delivery to consider the details of the health Green Paper.

As you do so, please bear in mind the following:

The
Green Paper isn’t about saving money; it’s about getting better health outcomes
for all Tasmanians. No
hospitals will close and every Tasmanian community will have access to better
care. It’s
about shifting the conversation from one about better access to care to one
about access to better care.

The release of the Green Paper will be followed in the New
Year by consultation, including with Tasmanian communities and with the health
sector over the next two months.

More details of forums and meetings will be released in
coming days.

Submissions will be considered before a final White Paper on
health reform is released in March 2015, forming the basis of future action.

2. Let’s have a
conversation about the language of health - a
conversation about health - where health starts - in our everyday lives

Health is influenced by lots of things & we want to find
out what Tasmanians from all walks of life have to say about their health &
its determinants. In 2015, the Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network -
Tasmania will oversee a project that will involve talking to people in the
community about how they understand the language of social determinants of
health (SDOH) - the language that they use and is meaningful to them.

“It is striking that anyone who uses the term “social
determinants of health” is not likely to be someone who is at risk from
them...We need a language we can all understand, and we need to hear from those
who are first in the queue to be harmed.” (Senior, T)

The project will help in unpacking a language we can all
understand, which will assist us to better engage across the range of sectors
and disciplines that are implicated in the SDOH. The project will present key
learnings about the language of SDOH, which may contribute to enhanced
community engagement and more empathetic practice. It will explore how
community insights on SDOH can enhance advocacy efforts of civil society, as
well as lobbyists working in the scientific space, to influence upstream policy
change. Lastly, it will make recommendations about the language of SDOH, and
compare findings to the work of others in this area.

We would like to hear from anyone who would like to be
involved in the development of this project. If you have ideas to contribute as
we plan for its implementation in 2015, please contact

Lifeline Tasmania is opening its 2015
intake for volunteers in the Hobart region wanting to become a Telephone Crisis
Supporter on the 13 11 14 crisis line.

Successful applicants will undertake
extensive training, make a commitment to shifts and meet further selection
criteria. This is to ensure volunteers are confident, skilled and able to
provide support to Lifeline’s Callers in their time of emotional distress and
crisis. If you’re interested, this type of volunteering will be very rewarding.

In
this guest post, Ronald Labonté traces the history of neoliberalism
through structural adjustment programs, the Great Recession and into current
Austerity Agendas. Labont é examines why neoliberalism continues to dominate
economic agendas and what types of policy messages are needed to combat the
resulting health plagues. This post is cross-posted at Global Health Watch
in support of the latest alternative world health report. Labonté holds
a Canada Research Chair in Globalization and Health Equity at the Institute of
Population Health, and is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of
Ottawa; and in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Flinders University of South
Australia.

The Social Determinants of Health Advocacy Network held its inaugural conference in Hobart last November

Visit our website to view and download some of the presentations

Visit: http://sdohtasmania.org.au

.

What are the social determinants of health?

The word social relates to society and means people.

Determinants of health are - broadly speaking - the things that affect your health - either in a positive way (they protect our health and keep us healthy) or a negative way (they make us sick).

If we put these things together - the social determinants of health are things (systems, products, factors) created, shaped and controlled by people that affect our health.

These things include education, housing, employment, transport and so forth. These are created and shaped by people. And because if this it's possible to change them.

As an example, let's look at transport. We - the people - have created our transport systems. Not necessarily you or I personally but as a society we've done this. The problem is that there are many aspects of the system that are not great - many of our streets aren't cycle or pedestrian friendly, if you live in a rural area public transport options are limited, the number of cars on our roads isn't good for the environment and so forth. All of these things about the transport system can affect our health.

But the great thing is that, because we - the people - developed this system in the first place, we have the ability to change it - to make things better and to improve health as a result.

There are other determinants of health - such as our genes - that we can't change. So let's focus on the things we can do to improve health.

More formally, here's how the literature talks about the social determinants of health:

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities - the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.

Here's a good place to start your reading:

A great publication on the social determinants of health is The Solid Facts.

Vision of the Network

All Tasmanians have the opportunity to live a long, healthy life regardless of their income, education, employment, gender, sexuality, capabilities, cultural background, who they are or where they live.

Membership

Membership of the Network is open to all Tasmanians who share this vision.

Membership is free of charge. Membership means you become a subscriber to our enews and that you get the opportunity to work with others who are part of this Network to undertake advocacy action.

Membership to the Network can be obtained by providing a name, organisation (where there is one but individuals can join as individuals), address, telephone and email address to the Facilitator by email:

socialdeterminantsofhealthtas@gmail.com

The Network currently has more than 220 members across Tasmania (as well as some interstate) from a broad range of sectors.

“The Commission’s main finding is straightforward. The social conditions in which people are born, live, and work are the single most important determinant of good health or ill health, of a long and productive life, or a short and miserable one. ……..This ends the debate decisively. Health care is an important determinant of health. Lifestyles are important determinants of health. ….But, let me emphasize, it is factors in the social environment that determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices in the first place”.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director General, World Health Organisation.

Tasmanian Action Sheets on the Social Determinants of Health

Visit the Tasmania Council of Social Service website to download 10 action sheets on the social determinants of health in Tasmania.